REVIEW – After the first Xenoverse, the sequel provides more content, pretty much making it a very recommendable title for Dragon Ball fans. If you liked the Budokai Tenkaichi series (back on the PlayStation 2), then Xenoverse 2 will be familiar to you. Forget the unsuccessful games (such as the one on the Kinect); this is the right direction.

Similarly to the first game, you start out by creating your fighter by choosing its race and its sex as well. Xenoverse 2 puts more emphasis on customization because you will keep getting more equipment to improve your character’s skills and power further, but I do need to add the fact that it may have been a little too much.

You’ll have to grind if you want to stand a chance against others online, and seeing how there are quite a few Dragon Ball fans, as well as I have seen some extreme levels of dedication in license-based games (liiiiike the Godzilla one… let’s just say that and no more), let’s just carve up grinding as a negative right off the bat.

Canton

After the first game’s hub, Xenoverse 2‘s Canton became better while not becoming harder to navigate. Oh yeah, but you have to get there first, which means loading times. Long loading times. I know, I keep jumping back and forth between positive and negative games, but they usually balance each other out.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 still has most of its longevity in online possibilities, and the experience is better than what the first game offered. The stability is outstanding, and it’s partially thanks to the beta test before the game was released. I never had problems with connection or lag at all! You can fight against other players, or even team up with them to defeat harder bosses and do some sidequests (I think they are called Parallel Quests).

Levels

What I liked in Xenoverse 2 was the recommended level for each mission. With this small, yet useful information, you can see whether you are ready to tackle the missions or just end up getting stomped into the ground in them. It can happen a few times; I think there are some difficulty spikes, effectively forcing you to do some sidequests to buff yourself. It was artificial padding when it wasn’t necessary.

The plot is mostly based on „what if?” scenarios, and if you’re a fan of the anime, you will likely appreciate Dimps‘ effort on this front! Your goal is going to get rid of the bad guys that are placed at inappropriate events in the timeline, which means you will have to restore history to its original form without altering it. However, you won’t have to hop into a DeLorean and drive away with 88 miles per hour speed to travel around in time in Xenoverse 2!

Cel-shaded

Xenoverse 2 kept the first game’s impressive visual style. The cel-shaded approach makes everything look like they would fit into the anime without a doubt; in fact, the game looks even better. On the other hand, though, the animations are not top-notch, making the limbs feel like getting stuck in concrete or something.

This mixed quality is noted in the audio as well: while I liked the main menu theme (it sounds even better than what the first Xenoverse had), the lipsync is completely off. Again, we got positives and negatives in the same paragraph.

For fans, it’s easily recommended

Since the first Xenoverse, our site’s ratings are a little harsher, but I still think that the sequel deserves an 8 out of 10 (I think I gave Xenoverse the same rating almost two years ago). The game’s fine: it expanded over its predecessor in every conceivable way, and Bandai Namco will support it with DLCs for at least 6 months after release (wasn’t it a year initially, though? are they preparing for a Xeno 3 in early 2018?), while the gameplay kept the same 3D fighting. The loading times, the sometimes grinding-requiring story and the seemingly mixed audiovisual efforts don’t make Xenoverse 2 much better than the first title. Give it a try if you can pick the game up during a sale, especially if you watched the anime in the past.

-V-

Publisher: Bandai Namco

Developer: Dimps

Genre: 3D fighting, RPG

Release date: October 28, 2016